Daniel Pesca

Composer and pianist Daniel Pesca (b. 1985 in Huntsville, Alabama) completed double bachelors and double masters degrees in both composition and piano at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor1 respectively. Pesca’s commissions include Persephone – a 1998 work for the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, Circles – an octet for the Musica Nova ensemble, Three dances for string quartet and string orchestra for the Commission Project of Rochester, NY, Apollonian Hymns and Dances for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra2, What remains a memory for the Elizabeth C. Rogers commission and Still and still moving for the University of Michigan symphony orchestra among others. A winner of the 2006 Prix Nadia Boulanger of the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau 3, France, Pesca maintains an active performance career as soloist and accompanist. Over the past couple years he has been the featured soloist in concerto works by J. S. Bach and Elliott Carter and has performed in many venues, including the Kennedy Center4, the Midwest Composers Symposium, and the Heidelberg New Music Festival. He is also winner of an honorable mention at the Jessie Kneisel Lieder Competition and has participated in important music festivals, such as the TCU/Cliburn Piano Institute (2002) and the Bowdoin International Music Festival (2004).

Pesca's works include Eons of Transparent Time (Homage to Vladimir Nabokov), fifteen movements for string quartet, Quintet for clarinet and strings, Quasi-Waltz for orchestra, Monna Innominata for soprano and piano and others.